Uber agrees to settle $148 million to settle data breach cover-up with U.S. states

Uber Technologies Inc. approves to pay $148 million for its inability to disclose a huge data breach which occurred in 2016; this is one of the biggest embarrassments tagged with the ride-hailing firm.

The massive amount of $148 million comes as a penalty imposed on the California-based ride-hailing organization for the 2016 data breach which the firm masked for a year. This announcement was made by the company and state officials on Wednesday.

The amount is known to be the largest considering attorneys general settlements associated with privacy cases. The settlement comes after an investigation that ran for almost 10-months. The data breach led to the disclosure of personal data through 57 million Uber accounts, which included 600,000 driver’s license numbers.

The newly appointed Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi unveiled the rupture in November, more than a year after the organization was slashed under the former CEO.

Khosrowshahi took charge and fired two top-ranked security officials right after the breach was announced. Recently, the company has hired a chief privacy officer together with a chief security officer.

The agreed settlement terms comprise of changes to business practices applied by Uber; this is aimed at stopping future breaches and improving its corporate culture. In addition, Uber will have to report any of its data security occurrences to states on a timely basis for the following two years.

Tony West, Uber Chief Legal Officer, said: “We know that earning the trust of our customers and the regulators we work with globally is no easy feat”. He further added, the company will continue to invest in defenses in order to keep the customers along with their data safe and commit to maintaining a productive and cooperative relationship with governments all over the world.

Industry news analysis is not just an online news portal, it is the answer to every question you've asked ever! Here at INA, we cover everything, from the basic news, ups and downs of the market to regular economic updates; INA provides you with the best of business and industry analysis globally. more >>